yogavasishta nirvaana prakaranam part 17

7/29/2019 YogaVasishta Nirvaana Prakaranam Part 17

1/44

YOGA

VAASISHTA

A PHILOSOPHICAL TREATISE

COMPOSED BY

VAALMIKI MAHARSHI

ESSENCE OF YOGAVAASISHTA

Compiled by

Tejasvini


2/44

SECOND HALF OF SECTION SIX

FINAL EMANCIPATION

PART SEVENTEEN

INTRODUCTION

Rama was now in a realized state; that means he was the principle of consciousness

without the identity of any physical form and was completely free of mind-conceptions.

After the Nirvikalpa Samaadhi state, woken up by his Guru, he opened his eyes.

Did he have eyes?

No! The so called others in the court-room saw that Ramas lotus eyes slowly blossomed

open.

Rama? He had no eyes. He (Chit) just was conscious of some vague shapes in front of

him.

They all saw his form. He also saw their shapes; or rather was just conscious of theshapes, yet he saw no differentiations in the Self.

How was he able to perceive the shapes if he is in the state of Chit without

differentiations?

He still had residue of the mind (Sattva) left back, which was very pure.

His mind now was not producing thoughts uncontrollably; but was silent and he could

produce thoughts by his will.

The mind silently got him the data of the perceived world and waited for his orders like a

humble slave. It had lost its mad jumping quality. The senses in their turn were just acting

as mechanical channels of perceptions. But the mind had stopped adding colors of likes

and dislikes to the sense perceptions.

Nothing mattered any more.Everything that one saw and heard was just some vague shapes making sounds.

What mattered whether one sat on a rock or a soft bed?

What mattered if one heard the crow cawing or music from a Veenaa?

Nothing mattered.

Everything was peaceful and silent; because the mind was silent.


3/44

That silent mind was producing the perceptions of the court-room and Rama was

conscious of the vague shapes in front of him.

He responded to all the shapes that were there in the proper way without actually getting

guided by any thought processes. He was just looking and the body went through all the

actions by itself like an automatic living mechanism.

Vasishta was telling him that he should take over the responsibility of the kingdom,

marry and so on.

Rama wondered how he could all that.

He had no identity with the physical body.

He saw that shape of a Rama also as one of the umpteen shapes produced by the mind.

So how could he do any work with a body that was not there?

Why should he?

What was there other than himself?

Maybe if he sat there watching silently the changing patterns around him including the

so-called body he had cherished for so long?

The body may just wither away!No! He did not covet death.

He was beyond the ideas of body and death.

He just was conscious and happy.

He had no desires; no duties; no conceptions!

So what was he supposed to do?

How could he do anything that Vasishta was instructing him to do?

He sat silently watching all the moving shapes. His silent mind was waiting like a servant

to do any humble service the great Master wanted! But the Master had no wants!

Vasishta looked at Rama amusedly and with his eyes commanded him to speak out his

dilemma.

Ramas thought instantly manifested through the mouth as some audible words and

Vasishta heard it as-

There are no ideas of actions at all, in the so-called mind.

There are no conceptions also. The mind is silent.

The body which is also a conception of the mind, has to logically vanish now.

But you are instructing about actions that are to be performed by the prince Rama.

Prince Rama is not here anymore.

It is Chit-state which is quiescent and undifferentiated.

I perceive no difference at all.

It is as amusing as asking a question to myself.

In such a state, how is the action supposed to rise out of this shape through which there

seems to be some perceiving action going on creating a particular set of patterns bound

by some particular mode of time and space?

Through the renunciation of all actions,

and also through the renunciation of all conceptions,

the body will fall lifeless of a person who is embodied.

Brahman! How can it happen while one is living?


4/44

CHAPTER ONE

Rama spoke

Through the renunciation of all actions,

and also through the renunciation of all conceptions,

the body will fall lifeless of a person who is embodied.

Brahman! How can it happen while one is living?

(In the first half of Nirvaana Prakarana, it was shown that excellent aspirants like Rama could realize the

Self by just listening and understanding the truth, and rest in the Supreme instantly.

If such a knower is somehow woken up from his Samaadhi state, and as he is always in the state of the Self,

what would be his next level? That gets discussed now.

Ramas question amounts to this-

If the realized Yogi does not identify with the body and the Praanas; and also as he has no more inclination

for any action (Karma) and its result; and since because of that if the body and Praanas cease to work; the

body will immediately fall dead.

So how can one act with a body after renouncing all identities and actions?)

Vasishta spoke

(Rama! You still perceive through the projected shape of a body. So the person labeled as Rama is alive

according to the world.

True! You have no conceptions. But still you are bound by the conceptions of the others that are perceived

all around the physical shape named Rama. You are still in the dream-world of Brahma.

Only when such a projection of a body exists, can you have the ideas of conceptions and non-conceptions.

Only a man who had conceptions can renounce them. You are now free of conceptions which were binding

you till now.

A dead man is also without conceptions. But you are still in the embodied condition and are alive to the

perceptions around you.)

The renunciation of conceptions is possible, only when one is alive in the body;

not when the body is dead.

Now listen to this proper explanation which will adorn the ear of the listener.


5/44

{WHAT IS RENUNCIATION OF CONCEPTION?}

(Let us analyze what you generalized as renunciation of conceptions.)

(What is the first and prime conception that binds a person?

It is the ego or the I conception which a person imagines superimposing many ideas around it.

I am the son or daughter of so and so. These are my relatives. I am good looking/bad looking. I am of suchand such a character. These are my possessions. I know this much etc etc.

The I formed by ones own imaginations is the first conception.

When a person gets rid of the ego-conception by identifying with the Self, all other conceptions rising

around it fall off.

Rama! You do not now have the false sense of ego because you are in the Self-state.)

Those who understand conception say thatthe idea of the I (the divided idea of the body)

alone is conception.

The contemplation of oneself as the undivided Self is

said to be the Renunciation of the Conception.

_

(What other conception binds a person?

The idea of pleasures found outside in the sense objects.

When a man understands that the blissful principle of Self alone is experienced as pleasure in the outsideworld, this taste for sense pleasures disappear.

Rama! You do not feel any attraction towards the sense objects, because you are in the Self-state.)

Those who understand conception say that

the taste felt in the objects of the senses




_


6/44


The conception that the outside world is solid and real!

Rama! You do not see the world as real; as you are in the state of the Self.)

Those who understand conception say that

the affirmed belief that all this is real




_


Memory is another conception that binds an embodied being.

What is memory?

Memory is just some random brain pattern or mental process which makes one think of some event to have

occurred in some past time-mode.

As Brahma alone is the totality of all minds, any thought of Brahma becomes the memory pattern of a

person. Brahma is once again just a random creation Vaasanaa with a random collection of memories or

thought vibrations of the Unmanifest Brahman.

So any memory pattern in the mind of a Jeeva need not be an actually experienced event. It is just a random

mind-pattern which makes him think of it as an event occurred somewhere sometime.

Better dismiss off all such patterns of thought as worthless and forget it. Keep only those memories which

are necessary for the present life. Any other thought about any other event is meaningless.

Rama! You do not have any such conceptions of memory now. You are like a freshly blossomed new

lotus.)

Know memory as the Conception.

Forgetting is said to be the greatest good.

That memory is of both the experienced and non-experienced events.

Forgetting all that has been experienced and not experienced,

like a worthless piece of wood,

forgetting everything completely,

remain hidden within, Hey wise one!


7/44

(Your question was-How can one do actions when he has no ego, no taste for sense objects, no belief inthe reality of the world, and no memory?Have you seen how a child behaves? After tiring itself in various games, it comes to the mother exhausted

and sleepy. The mother will bathe him; dress him; feed him; prepare him for bed and so on. The child goes

through all those actions mechanically while sleeping and yet is also awake when going through all those

actions.

The boy has no thoughts in the mind; no wants; nothing. The mind is silent there also. Yet he does all theactions without fault. Act like that child O Rama!)

When doing actions that belong to you,

remain without bringing anything forcefully into the mind,

like a child half-asleep,

doing only the routine works.

_

(When the potter turns the wheel and leaves it to rotate freely at some speed, the wheel will keep rotating

by itself. It has no idea of any purpose. It is just moving as it was doing before, just by force of habit.

Similarly you keep doing what you were doing all these days without any conception binding you to any

action. You just have to remain as a witness, like the potter who left the wheel to move by itself. The body-

mind mechanism will keep doing things they were doing perfectly well forced by past habits.)

A wheel moves with speed without any conception of its own;

like that Rama, you also be moving through the actions

by just the past habits of the life.

_

(Rama! You do not possess any mind now which was acting as a channel for Vaasanaas. You are

completely free of Vaasanaas. Whatever is there in you as the mind is just a burnt rope. It is very pure and

empty of all conceptions. It is in the state of Sattva.

So without botheration just perceive the world through that pure mind-faculty and do actions that come

your way.)

You do not have the mind;

but are endowed with Sattva state which is without Vaasanaas.

Just move through your actions which come along the way.


8/44

(This is the highest state a man can achieve while alive in the body.This is the state of non-conception.

It is a state where there is no ego; no attraction for sense objects; no hugging to the world thinking it to be

real; and no memories binding one to the time/space prison.)

_

I lift up my hands and shout loudly; yet no one listens to me!

Non-conception is the highest good.

Why is it not practiced by anyone?

(Just you have to analyze the truth of everything. That is all.

Did not Rama achieve that state by just analyzing all the truths as I kept explaining them to him?

Why cant everyone do it?This wish fulfilling gem is in the heart of everyone. Why dont they make use of it? Why is it buried in the

mire of deep ignorance? Come on! Take out the gem! Start analyzing! You will see yourself as all.

You will no more suffer.)

Alas! The great power of this delusion!

Though this wish-fulfilling gem named Vichaara

which removes all miseries,is in their own hearts,

it is discarded (and not used for the benefit of oneself)._

(You will know the unreal nature of perceptions. Just try it. You will know it as your own experience.)

Not perceiving the world as real is the non-conception.

Be in the awareness of ones real nature.

This is the highest good. Experience it yourself.

_


9/44

(You need not do hard penance. You need not wander in pilgrimages. You dont have to torture your body

by observing austerities.

Just remain silent in the mind. Keep it free of conceptions. In such a state, you will not want even the

kingdom of Indra.

When everything is just a changing pattern of sense perception, what is there to desire anymore?)

That Supreme state is attained only by staying silent.

In that Supreme level, even a kingdom equals a piece of grass.

_

(Look at the traveler who is walking in the long road leading towards his destination. He is lost in his own

thoughts of business or family or whatever. But his feet keep on walking. They avoid the thorns, stones andditches by themselves. They keep walking in the right direction. They have no will of their own. Yet they

function perfectly. You also can do actions without conceptions O Rama.)

The feet of a traveler keep on walking.

The action there is without any conception.

You move through all your actions in the similar manner.

_

(As if asleep and not perceiving anything willfully, you do all the actions that befall you.)

Forgetting all the actions along with their results, as if asleep;

move among the works that befall you,

without maintaining conceptions.

_

(The tender grass which is floating in the stream may be pushed towards other grass-heaps or separated also

because of the winds. Move among the people around you like that. Do not be affected by anything that

happens in the life. Do not covet anything; do not avoid anything. Be like the grass-shoot which moves

without a will of its own.)


10/44

Move in the world doing actionswithout conceiving anything willfully,

and without getting overwhelmed by the emotions of sorrow or happiness,

moving only like the tender grass-shoot floating in the flood-stream.

_

(Why does one perform any action? Maybe being forced or by desiring a pleasure through such an action.

Allow, only the organs of action to move mechanically without the mind entertaining any attachment to the

action. Have you seen the wooden puppet moving by a string? It goes on moving its limbs making the

motions of a girl or a boy creating emotions in the immature audience. But by itself it entertains no

emotions actually. Be like that! Move among sense objects like that emotionless puppet without anyattraction towards the world. Perform your actions with utmost perfection, but with the least attachment.)

Do not have the least of attachment in the actions.

Be like a wooden puppet doing action for the sake of others alone.

_

(Have you seen the creepers in the snow season?

They will all be covered with snow. You can see their shapes; but the trees and creepers will not have any

growth-essence in them.

Look at the world also like that; as shapes and sounds without essence.

Just like you are not attracted by a lotus creeper which is covered by snow, do not feel attraction towards

objects of the world which are just changing patterns perceived by senses without any essence in them.)

Let all the sense perceptions occur without any essence;

seen only as shapes,

like the creeper in the snow-season.

_


11/44

(Do not entertain any attraction for the sense objects.

Physical actions are inert. They do not bind you in any way. But be careful and do not entertain any taste

for worldly objects. That alone is considered as an action and will bind you forever.)

If you have attractions for the sense experiences,

whether you are doing actions or not,

this harmful worldly existence will never subside.

_

(Wind blows fuming the fire in the stove to blaze high and water boils perfectly well.

Here, only the wind keeps blowing. The fire and water mechanically fulfill the purpose without a will of

their own.

You just have to see that you do not entertain any willful conception. That is enough. The mind and the

body will do their respective functions mechanically.If you function in the world in this manner, no harm will ever come to you. You will not be bound by the

worldly perceptions.)

The wind of non-conception blows;

the fire-mechanism blazes high, making the water boil.

If you act like this, you will surely have endless good.

_

(This is the greatest accomplishment a man can achieve, where one performs all his actions in his life

without the prompting of the Vaasanaas.)

This is the supremely courageous conduct.It will get rid of the fever of successive births;

when one perform his duties practicing the Vaasanaa-less state.

_


12/44

(Do actions without being attached to the fruits of actions. Do not abstain from doing the duties that belong

to you.

Renounce both action and inaction.

Do both action and inaction.

Renounce the idea of doership and remain as the witness of all actions of the mind and the body. You will

not be doing any action though you appear to be doing actions.

Perform actions only through the mind and the body; yet remain action-less as the changeless Self.)

Do not be overly interested in doing actions.

Do not abstain from actions also.

Renounce both and do not take resort to both also.

_

What more is there to say!

I will brief it out to you.

Conceiving is the binding of the mind.

Absence of it is complete freedom.

There is no duty or non-duty here, anywhere.

There is only that unborn, auspicious, quiescent, endless principle which is all.

Remain as before in the Self-state.

Seeing inaction in action and action in inaction,

quietly remain happy

in the state of Pure Consciousness which is your nature.


13/44

Non-conception alone is known as Yoga.

Naturally the mind will die because of that.Completely be absorbed in the state of the Self and remain as you are.

He who does not conceive, who is quiet in the mind,

whether he lives (in this world) or not lives (is in the other world),

there is no difference for him whether he does the ordained actions or not.

(He has no fulfillments lacking.)

When the divisions of action and non-action have vanished in you

who are eternal and without divisions by nature,

there are no actions in the actions;

there is no doer-ship in doer-ship.

Entertaining the ideas of I and mine (towards the body),

you will never come out of your miseries.

Without conceiving (the reality of the actions), you will become free.

Follow whatever course you deem fit.

There is nothing known as I and mine.

Whatever there is, it is the Supreme auspicious state.

All that is seen here is different from the Supreme auspicious state,

and indescribable (as it is non-existent).


14/44

The world is made of the auspicious Chit like an army (dolls) is made of clay.

The shapes, seeing, mind processes are all just the clay of the auspicious Chit.

(The mind which goes towards perceptions; all other mental processes appearing as connected to the world;

shapes and actions of the perceived world; all are just the shine of the Chit.)

_

Therefore, even the ideas of I and mineare nothing but the essence of the Supreme Lord.

Remain without an attached mind, ha,

just like the silent inside of the rock.

_

CHAPTER TWO

(Still, Rama was not convinced.

As a realized Sage, he did not own any physical body and did not feel any kinship with any of the beings

around him; so how can he still act in the world?

Why should he perform action at all?

What for?

What will he get by the performance or non-performance of any action? Better remain doing nothing.)

(Action in the present life is the results of actions of endless past births classified as good or bad.

If everything is the auspicious Chit, then what need is there for the action? So a knower has no need for any

action as he has no residue of past Karmas. So renunciation of all actions alone is suited for him. And also,

a knower does not covet any result from the performance of ordained rites.)

Rama spoke

Lord! I and mine are unreal for a knower in the state of the Self.

By renouncing or performing actions, what good or bad is there for a knower?


15/44

Vasishta spoke

(Sage Vasishta now starts clarifying Ramas ideas of action and inaction.He asks Rama to define Karma and explain how it is to be renounced.)

(The ordained actions can be avoided; but daily actions are there for the maintenance of the body. How to

avoid them? How can one renounce all actions and remain quiet? Tell me what you mean by the word

Karma.)

Anagha! If I ask you to explain something, how will you answer?

If you know exactly what Karma is, then tell me what it is!

Tell me in detail, what sort of a root it has, how it grows,

by what perfect method can it be destroyed, and how?

Rama spoke

(Rama compares Karma to a huge tree with ever-spreading branches.

He explains how the tree should be cut off at the roots if it has to be destroyed.)

That which has to be destroyed completely, Hey Bhagavan,

gets destroyed by cutting off the roots;

not by cutting off the branches etc.

A wise man should destroy all his actions whether good or bad,

by cutting off the roots.

Then it gets destroyed completely.


16/44

(Rama continues his talk-)

Brahman! I will tell you what the roots of this Karma-Tree are; by the cutting of which,

it gets destroyed completely and never sprouts again.

This body is the Karma-Tree raised like this.

It is deep rooted in this wilderness of Samsaara.

It is endowed with varied limbs (like hands, feet etc).

The actions of past incarnations are the seed of this Karma-Tree.

It yields fruits continuously in the form of pains and pleasures.

It has fading flowers which are very attractive for just a moment in the youthful state.

At every minute the monkey called Time (Destruction) rampages the tree.

When the snow-season named Sleep strikes, the leaves called the dreams remain

contracted.When the autumn season of old age strikes, the leaves called Desires remain subdued

(unable to get fulfilled).

This tree grows in the jungle of Jagat (world).

It is surrounded by the parasitical grass of wife, family etc.

The tender parts of the hands, feet, back, lips, ears etc are the red sprouting leaves.

The well-formed leaves (hardened) are the parts of the body like hands and feet, which

always keep moving.

The blood-filled fingers with nerves, bones etc are the tender leaves.

The sharp edged rows of buds namely the nails are like crescent moons and grow again

and again even if cut.

KARMENDRIYAS

The actions of the past incarnations appear as the body.

The wicked organs of action are the knot-filled roots of this body-tree.

They are made of strong bones and are always sunk in the mire of food. They drink the

water of Vaasanaas and are filled with the essence of self-adoration.

JNAANENDRIYAS AND MIND

The organs of action are the clusters raising from the roots namely the organs of

knowledge which are soft; made of tender skin; and firm.

They are five pillar-like structures and spread far and wide.They are sunk in the mire of Vaasanaas and are filled with the essence of those

experiences; and they are wild and uncontrollable.

They are rooted in the big pillar like structure called the mind which spreads over all the

three worlds.

There are veins in the form of five streams namely the five senses oozing out many

essences (sight, hearing etc).


17/44

(After the description of the Karma-tree, Rama now talks about the primary root of the tree which has to be

cut off without a trace.

Rama says: The root of this Karma-tree is the Jeeva who performs actions in the perceived world.

How does the perception occur? Because of the perceiving consciousness! So it becomes the root of all.

But it is rooted in the Brahman.

Brahman has no root.)

(Perceiving Consciousness (individual ego) alone is the cause of the action-tree and it perceives a particular

world because of the result of past actions rising from the ignorance of the Self.

Since Rama is realized, the perceiving consciousness which causes the Karma has to be absent. So he has

no Karma that needs to be performed.

This is Ramas argument.)

The root of all this is the Jeeva (the embodied entity)

the principle of consciousness turned towards the perceptions.Perceived phenomenon is caused by the consciousness (Chit)

and it is the root of all roots.

The root of this perceiving consciousness

isBrahman (the point beyond all perceptions and limitations)which itself has no root;

as it is without a name,as it is without end;

as it is pure; and as it is the only reality.

(Actions are caused by the perceiving consciousness namely the individual ego-consciousness. That is

due to the ignorance of the Self.)

Therefore, for all actions the perceiving principle is the prominent root.

By perceiving oneself (as a limited ego,)

the movement called action happens.

(If one was not ignorant, one will not regard himself as individual and one will not perceive this world

appearing as Vaasanaa-fields. So if a person is realized, there are no Vaasanaas that prompt him to action;

there is no ego; no agent of perception.)


18/44

Sage! The principle of perceiving consciousness alone is said to bethe fore-most root of all actions.

Only by its presence do the huge branches of the body-cotton tree grow forth.

The action sprouts only when this perceiving consciousness is enveloped

by the meaning of the word as the ego and doership (I do the action and I will get the result);

otherwise there is only the Supreme state of reality.

The action sprouts only when this perceiving consciousness of Chit is enveloped

by the meaning of the word as the ego and doership (I do the action and I will get the result);

otherwise there is only the Supreme state which is the source.

Therefore, perception of the limited identity of the body

alone is the cause of the Karma.

Whatever has been said by me is what you taught me Hey Lord of Sages!


19/44

CHAPTER THREE

Vasishta spoke

(According to Rama, perceiving consciousness alone is the cause of all actions. Ignorance leads to actions.

When Self is realized, there is no perceiving consciousness. Only Brahman is there. So where is the

perceived world or perceiver? Where raises the question of action or inaction?

Vasishta argues back-

True, you are in the Self-state. But you are still perceiving me, this court-room etc. The perceiving

consciousness perceives perceived phenomenon. How can you get rid of it as long as the body is there

acting as a channel for these perceptions?

You just cannot sit statue like and abstain from action. The body itself is vibrating with Praana. How can

you not do anything? How can you renounce anything?)

(HOW CAN YOU STOP PERCEIVING?}

Raaghava!

As long as the body is there (as a perceived object),

what can be renounced or

what can be practicedto renounce the action of the subtle principle of consciousness (namely perception)?

_

(And since you perceive, you will have the ideas of outside and inside. You will perceive yourself as

different from all. Yes, you know that the perceived phenomenon is unreal. Yet you are seeing it still.)

Whatever is perceived will necessarily have the divisions of inside and outside,

whether the forced delusion is real or unreal.

_


20/44

(Of course you can argue that whatever is perceived is delusion; and non-perception is the best course to

renounce it all.

However, such argument is not practical.

Whether you call it a delusion or not, you will perceive the world as long as the body-image is maintained

by the mind.)

If one does not perceive, then definitely one will get out of this delusion.

The delusion may be real or unreal! What use is such an analysis?

_

(Of course Chit alone appears as all this.)

This consciousness alone blossoms inside and produces these delusions,

called Vaasanaa, desire, mind, action, conception etc.

_

(Whether one is a knower or an ignorant wretch, mind of an embodied person will exist as the body and its

perceptions. You cannot just wish it away.)

Whether one is enlightened or not enlightened,

when the embodied one is inside the house of the body,

the mind completely fills the body.

One cannot get rid of it.

(Whether one has knowledge or remains ignorant, the body-projection of the mind is there in both the

states. Till the body falls by itself and one reaches the Videha Mukti state, the knower also is bound by

the perceptive world. His mind will continuously project the world around him. His body also is aprojection conceived by that particular pattern of the mind; and the knower will perceive the body and the

connected projections as before. The ignorant of course surely perceive the body as their own identities;

and always believe that they live in a solid stable world.

Therefore a knower, who knows the unreality of the world, simply cannot discard the body, the moment he

realizes the Self. His minds first projection is the aggregation of senses and the body which contains

them.)

_


21/44

(How can you just make the body vanish, when you are living and perceiving the world through it?

When one is living, how is it possible to get rid of the body completely?

_

As the very meaning attached to the word Karma itself is absent

in the realized Sage,

he discards both the idea of action and inaction and

remains as the unborn Self.

(Living means the perception of the world through the tool of the body. When alive you cannot be without

the body. The only difference between a knower and the ignorant is the idea attached to the word action.

An ignorant man is attached to the action; is anxious about the result; and so on. But the knower sees the

world as just a play of the mind and remains established in his quiescent nature. For him Karma means

just the movement of the Karmendriyas at appropriate times and he goes through the scenes of the world-

stage as if asleep.

He is like an actor acting in the world-drama. Though perfect in all emotions, actions and words, the actor

on the stage knows the unreal nature of the stage. He has no ownership towards the actions he performs or

the objects he perceives on the stage. So is the world for the knower.

_

(What is there to renounce at all?)

As there is no action that can be renounced,

he has no need to renounce the idea of doer-ship at all.

(Liberation does not mean that the body and world will vanish off the moment you know the truth. Themirage waters are seen by all who have eyes. The fools run after it; the wise do not. The knowledge that the

mirage waters are unreal will not make one not see the waters.

So is the world-perception. The belief in the reality of the world is completely destroyed in a knower. He

has no attachment or attraction for the world. But his senses do not stop their functions. The world just does

not vanish off in a poof.)


22/44

{WHAT ACTUALLY IS LIBERATION?}

As the idea of reality in the perceived world is completely destroyed in him,

he has no attachment towards the world.

That alone is said to be the liberated state.

_

{WHERE IS THE IGNORANT PERCEIVER IN THE SELF-STATE?}

(Rama! You argued that the perceived world is perceived by the limited ego and that a realized man is in

the state of Brahman; so he will not perceive the world.

But you the realized Sage, still perceive the world. That is why you are conversing with me. There is no

ego in you. What is getting perceived by you now?)

Even if the perception act is there of the perceived world,

the perceiving agent of the world etc does not arise at all.

Therefore what gets perceived?

(Rama! You are not the ignorant perceiving limited ego. You are in the state of Chit. You do not perceive

anything as expressions of Vaasanaa-fields. You are just conscious of the world as a witness.

Where is the so-called perceiver who has to renounce the perceptions?

Whatever is defined by you as perception is the shine of the Chit (you) which is your very nature; like the

heat of the fire, or the fluidity of water.)

_

{THERE IS NO ACTION OF PERCEPTION; BUT ONLY THE SHINE OF CHIT}

(Rama! There is no perception-act happening in you who are in the state of the Self. You are just

conscious of the perceived world as Brahman-state. That is all. Nothing gets perceived by you as you are

not the perceiving consciousness. There is no willful action proceeding from you, the state of Brahman.

You are just in the quiescent state of Brahman. So how can you be the perceiver connected to the

perceiving action and the perceived phenomenon?)

That state of perception which is not rising towards the perceived phenomenon

is not actually the perception.

That is not an action. That is the quiescent state of the Brahman.

_


23/44

{WHAT IS AN ACTION?}

(Rama! There are no three separate divisions called the perceiver, perceiving action and the perceived

object. The very perceiving consciousness or the limited idea of ego is the so-called Action.

When this perceiving consciousness or ego reflects in the intellect, it appears as this world phenomenon.Liberation means- not being the three-fold division of perceiver, perceiving and perceived.

You are not the limited ego.

You are not doing any action at all.

What is there to renounce or accept?)

Perceiving consciousness alone is known as Karma;

because, that alone reflects in the intellect etc like the sky seen in the water.

Non-perceiving alone is termed liberation.This is the instruction given to the knower.

_

{YOU ARE NOT DOING ANY ACTION OF PERCEIVING, RAMA!}

(Rama! Though you are conscious of the body and the perceptions connected to it, you are not performing

the action. You are not the perceiving limited ego. You are Brahman. There is nothing for you to renounce.

Renunciation or non-renunciation has no meaning for you in your Supreme state of existence.)

Therefore the renunciation of the action is not there,

even when the body exists.

_

(Rama! For the ignorant, the perceiving consciousness is tainted by the Vaasanaas and they are

continuously experiencing their own Vaasanaa-fields. They cannot escape those Vaasanaa-fields. Their

Karma-tree never can be cut off. It grows wide and tall spreading its branches everywhere and they go

through many births endlessly.)


24/44

Those who are attached to the Karma are not freed of the roots.

The root of ones action is the perceiving mind of the nature of Vaasanaas.

That cannot be cut off when the body is there,

except through knowledge.

Rama! This alone is the root of all other Vaasanaas.

_

(Rama! A person who wants to cut the prime root of this Karma-tree should analyze the nature of the ego

or perceiving consciousness. He must free himself from the onslaught of Vaasanaas. Then he will stop

perceiving the Vaasanaa-fields. The root of the Karma-tree remains destroyed for him as he is no more the

perceiving consciousness but stays as Brahman.)

Rama!

This subtle consciousness can be analyzed with effort through non-perception.

Through this method, the source root of the perception-tree gets destroyed.

_

(Rama! Brahman alone is. There is no second.

What can Brahman renounce? What can a realized man who is in the state of Brahman renounce?)

That alone exists

which is non-perceiving, empty, second-less, and one.

All this is meaningless.

As it is of the nature of emptiness, it is said to be the essence of consciousness

which is without afflictions.


25/44

CHAPTER FOUR

Rama spoke

(Rama argues back.

If Brahman alone is, then there cannot be this perceived phenomenon.

How can one be in the state of Brahman and still experience the world of perceptions?

When real alone is, how can unreal exist along with it?)

Hey Best of Sages!

How can you make the perceiving as non-perceiving?

The unreal does not exist; and the real never ceases to exist.

Vasishta spoke

(Vasishta answers back Rama.

Rama! Yes, what you say is true.

Brahman alone is and the perceived world is not at all there.You know this already. So where is the perceived world for you?)

The unreal does not exist; and the real never ceases to exist.

When this is realized, then the non-perceiving of the perceiving is there naturally.

_


26/44

Vasishta spoke

{WHAT IS PERCEPTION?}

(Rama! First understand what the word perception means.

Perception means the prison of Vaasanaa-fields. You are out of it. So you do not perceive anything.

The shapes and sounds around you are not binding you anymore, because they are not your Vaasanaa-

fields. You have no Vaasanaas at all. Your mind is just doing its job through the senses.

You are seeing something; hearing something; smelling something and so on.

In what way are you affected by them?

Take the example of the snake seen in a rope.

When you know that the rope alone was seen by you as the snake, will you be afraid of the rope again?

Yes, you may still see the rope dangling like a snake; but you know fully well that it is just a rope.

Perceptions are like the snake seen in a rope.

Only the ignorant men fear the snake. For the knower, there is no snake at all.

There is only the rope.

The real never ceases to exist and the unreal is never there.

Only the ignorant men go after the mirage waters.

For the knower, there is no water at all in the mirage seen.

The real never ceases to exist and the unreal is never there.)

These two-the word - perception and the meaning attached to it are

like the delusion of the snake seen in the rope.

They both arise falsely like the water in the mirage.

_

(Rama! When one does not get deluded by the snake seen in the rope or the water seen in the mirage, there

is no fear from the snake or desire for the water. Those who believe in the reality of the snake or the water

suffer much. So be aware of the truth of the Self always. Do not ever see the snake; see always the rope.)

If one does not perceive these two- the word and its meaning (differentiations)it leads to ones good (Self-state).

Their knowledge gives only pain.

Therefore always understand only the truth.

Do not understand the unreal Raaghava.

_


27/44

(Rama! The awareness of the perceived world as real, means pain.

Perception means the perceiving consciousness experiencing Vaasanaa-fields as the perceiver, perceiving

and perceived. When one is free of the word perception and its meaning, when one remains as the Self

without experiencing Vaasanaa-fields, he is free. He does not perceive any more. He does no action.

Do not be aware of the reality of the perceived world.

Remain as the Self. You will then not perceive anything. You will not do any action.)

The awareness of the reality of the word perception and its meaning-

is extreme pain.

Cut off the (common) understanding of the word perceiver and its meaning;

and remain as you are.

_

At the time of acting through the perceptions also,

remain quiet with the knowledge that everything is the state of the Supreme Self,

like Om is the source of all words and their meanings.

_

(Rama! What is good or bad in the perception for a realized Sage?

What is good or bad about the snake which is not there at all?

What taste is there in the mirage-water which is not there at all?)

A discriminating Sage should destroy

both the ideas of good and bad attached to his action,

through the understanding that it is not there at all.

That becomes possible through the realization of the truth.

_


28/44

(Rama! Cutting off the roots of Karma-tree means the knowledge of the truth of the Self. When in the

Self-state there is no action at all; there is no Vaasanaa-manifestation at all.

Through enquiry, through the analysis of the real nature of the Self, the Karma-tree gets destroyed.)

By cutting off the roots of the Karma,

the worldly existence perishes.

When one analyzes and searches for the Karma, it does not exist at all._

(Rama! Fruit means the marrow, seed, skin etc.

Brahman is the perceived world, mind etc.)

The principle of consciousness projects the mind etc within itself,

yet not differing from them in the least;

like the marrow of the Bilva fruit creates the seed etc within itself

not differing from them in the least._

(BhooLoka means all the lands, islands, oceans and mountains on it.Similarly, Chit means all that is perceived also.)

Whatever is within an object is not different from the object,

like the JambooDveepa etc which are in the BhooLoka do not differ from it.

The space and the objects within it do not differ from the Supreme Self in the least.

The water is not different from the liquidity within it.

So also, the principle of consciousness alone is the mind,

being that itself and is the true meaning of the term mind.


29/44

Like the fluidity in water,

like the light in the fire,

the consciousness and mind exist in Brahman as not different from it.

The function of the Chit is only to reveal some perceived phenomenon.

That alone rises within itself without any cause,

like the baseless delusory appearance of a spirit;and it does not exist as a reality.

( - makes one aware of an object. Revealing of an object is the Kriyaa function of theChit.)

(Mirror means that which reflects. Brahman is that which shines forth as the perceived phenomenon.

You cannot be the mirror and renounce the reflections. How can the mirror renounce its own nature?)

_

(Rama! There is no cause for this nature of Chit which reveals the perceived phenomenon.

It is all this; yet remains untainted by all this.

Mirror contains countless reflections.

The (ignorant) reflection in the mirror does not know that it is the mirror in essence. Imagining itself to be

different from other reflections, it suffers conceiving other reflections through desires and attachments.

It is not even aware of the mirror which is its essence.

A (realized) reflection which knows that it is the mirror in essence, sees the reflections; but is not bound by

them. It knows the space, time, divisions, seen in the mirror are also, the mirror in essence.)

The function of the Chit is only to reveal some perceived phenomenon.

Therefore this perceived world appears like a vibration in the wind without any reason.

The outside, inside etc all mean the same Self.

_


30/44

(Rama! This perceiving consciousness or the Karma alone appears as the body. This individual ego alone

spreads out as this world.

When you are not the individual ego but the Self-state, there is no Karma at all. )

The expansion of this function alone is the body.That alone is the individual ego-self,

branching out as the world.

Without perceiving, without ego,

it subsides like the motionless wind.

_

(By understanding the false nature of the perceived world one does not get destroyed himself. He remains

as the Supreme Self witnessing the game of the world.)

By not perceiving,

the realized knower becomes the endless Self

and remains like a rock.

Uproot the tree of Samsaara like the boar digging away with its frontal horn.

This is how the hollow which contains the seed of Karma

gets destroyed; not otherwise.

Raaghava! Let the root of Karma which is of the nature of perception,

remain subdued in your mind always.


31/44

When the essence of the Karma-seed (Vaasanaa based ego) is renounced,

the other perceived part of the Self remains absent for the Jeeva.

The Knowers of the Self who have subdued their minds

do not accept anything; nor do they reject anythingthrough renunciation or acceptance.

With a subdued mind,

with hearts empty like the sky,

the knowers remain as they are (in the state of the Self).

They just do whatever needs to be done (in their position of life.)

Or, they do not do anything at all.

The grass and sticks carried by the floods move without any will of their own.

So do the organs of action move in the knowers with subdued minds,

like the movement of limbs in a child, which is half-asleep.

_

(Rama! Once you know the bliss of the Self, you will no more be attracted by the perceived world and its

objects. You will not bother about them at all. They do not exist for you, though mechanically perceived by

the senses.The ignorant excel in perceiving; the knowers excel in non-perceiving.)

After obtaining the taste (of the Self) which is free of Vaasanaas,

all the objects become tasteless.

They stop existing inside or outside

as if the knowers have become experts in not perceiving anything.

_

(Rama! Perceiving yet not-perceiving is known as the Renunciation of action.

As Brahman you are aware of the perceptions; so you perceive.

As the ego you are not any more attached to these perceptions; so you do not perceive.

The mechanical functions of the sense-organs are not actions at all for you, the realized Sage.

In whatever way they move, what bothers you, the Self, the witness consciousness?)


32/44

Such a perception alone is known as the renunciation of action.

That is achieved when one becomes enlightened.

The actions done otherwise

(through the movement of the body and its limbs)

are not real.

What is the difference in their action or non-action?

{RENUNCIATION OF KARMA}

When perceptions are not perceived,

when one has no Vaasanaas at all,

when the mind remains silent and equal at all times,

when action and non-action both remain undifferentiated,

it gets known as the renunciation of Karma.

_

(Organs of knowledge reveal the world. Organs of action function as per the situation. But nothing will

make a long-standing impression on you.

You will just pass through those actions but not carry their burden in your mind.)

That alone is known as the renunciation of Karma,

where the action does not get remembered again, like an action long-forgotten,and stays like the belly of the pillar (unaffected).

_

(Rama! The ignorant fools pretend to be the teachers and advise the cessation of body actions, like

remaining silent, starving, standing, etc which in no way benefit the aspirant. Such men who resort to the

control of organs of action and keep alive the mind and its Vaasanaas, are doomed forever.)


33/44

The devil of Karma-Tyaaga will devour those ignorant creatureswho wastefully perform non-renunciation as renunciation,

with wrongly understood knowledge.

_

{THE KNOWERS HAVE CUT OFF THE ROOTS OF KARMA-TREE}

(Rama! Those who have attained the state of the Self, have renounced the Karma at the root-level. They are

not affected by the normal workings of the organs of action. Their minds do not have any Vaasanaa-taints. )

Those who have attained the peaceful state,

by renouncing the Karma at the root-level,

have no meaning for anything done or not done.

Completely uprooting the seed of the Karma without a trace,

the knowers of the Self remain always in the state of equanimity and peace

and are blissful.

They slightly move without any attachment in the duties that come to their lot,

similar to a man shaking in drunken stupor

or like human-shaped wooden dolls functioning through some mechanical device._


34/44

(These knowers are infatuated by the embrace of Liberation-Goddess and are always in stupor.

They are not aware of what they are doing on this earth. Mechanically they go through all actions, lost in

the bliss of the embrace of their beloved Goddess named liberation.)

They act as if half asleep and half awake,

somehow moving about on the earth,

as if lost in the infatuation of the charming lady namely

the beautiful Goddess of liberation.

_

{HOW DOES ONE RENOUNCE KARMA?}

(Rama! Cut at the root-region of Karma-tree; not the branches.)

That alone is said to have been renounced completely,

which has been renounced from the root-level.

The renunciation which does not destroy the root

is equal to the cutting of the branches only.

The tree of Karma which is not cut off at the roots,

but where only its branches get sliced off,

rises in manifold ways with thousands of branches.

He alone, who does not perceive (as the Vaasanaa-bound ego),

will achieve Karma-Tyaaga, dear Rama; not through any other means.

Therefore practice that only.


35/44

{WASTEFUL VENTURES OF IGNORANT FOOLS}

(Without destroying the Vaasanaas and controlling the mind, renunciation of action is not possible.

If any one performs wasteful austerities just controlling the organs of action, he is a hypocrite or is a

misguided aspirant. He will fool himself and others if he is controlling only the organs of action.)

Those who do not do the complete renunciation of Karma and resort to other practices,

pretend to do something which looks like renunciation,

but which actually is non-renunciation.

They keep hitting at the empty sky (wastefully).

KarmaTyaaga naturally occurs by itself, when one attains enlightenment.

Even if great works get performed,

a knowers action will be like a burnt up seed

as he is completely free of desires.

_

(Rama! A person gets pain or pleasure from the actions, because his mind is tied to the taste which itsuperimposes in the sense objects.

Observe the stick tied to the rope which is used in the well to lift the water.

All the difficulties start for the stick, the moment it gets tied to the horrible rope. Then it starts lifting the

water up; pours it into the canal, thus watering the fields; fields yield crop and the stick thinks it has

obtained the result; cries if the crops fail and laughs if the crops are plentiful.

In the same way, the mind-stick is tied to the taste-rope. It keeps imagining that the objects are filled

with joy and taste. It keeps on enjoying sense pleasures or rather imagines that it is enjoying. It is sad

sometimes; happy sometimes. But the experiences just vanish away into nothing leaving the mind empty

and forlorn. What did the stick gain by lifting waters by holding on to the rope? Nothing!)

The actions done by the organs tied to the mind yields results

because of the feeling of taste.

The stick in the well tied by a horrible rope will do

the action of lifting water, pouring it on the field etc and gets the fruit of the field.

Other (unattached) actions done by the organs do not yield such results.


36/44

{A REALIZED MAN IS ALWAYS IN THE STATE OF QUIESCENCE}

(A knower is not bothered by the dramas in the world-stage.

He remains alone as the Self even in a crowded city. His mind is silent at all times.

The ignorant even when he is alone in the forest will be filled with over-flowing desires and thoughts

connected to them.)

The JeevanMukta who has renounced the Karma through knowledge

has no Vaasanaas.

He remains the same whether he is in the house or a forest;

whether riches leave him or seek him.

For a man of quiescence,

the house itself is a distant unpopulated forest.

For the ignorant agitated man,

even the deserted forest will be a city filled with people.

_

(The mind of the ignorant man is tainted with attachments, desires, greed, hatred, arrogance, envy etc.

But this tainted mirror is very good in reflecting the entire world of mountains and rivers in it.

The mind of the knower is taintless and pure. It does not reflect any world at all. )

The entire world

with its varied states of actions and agitationsand filled with the towns, cities, kingdoms and mountains,

reflects clearly in the tainted heart of the ignorant

as in a mirror.

_


37/44

CHAPTER FIVE

Vasishta spoke

When the world with all its counter-parts of ego etc subdues

in the perceiving mind through enlightenment,

like the light of the lamp snuffed out by the absence of oil,

then only the renunciation becomes possible.

Renunciation of just physical action is not true renunciation.

Only the renunciation of perceived awareness is known as true renunciation.

In that state the world is not perceived as real.

It has no Ego-taint.

It is the changeless state of the Self.

This one is so and so I am like this That is mine

When all these ideas get removed like the oil removed from the lamp,

the Supreme state of beatitude of the nature of knowledge alone,

remains left over.

This one is so and so I am like this That is mine

When all these do not get subdued in a person, he gets no knowledge.

He has no peace. He never can accomplish true renunciation.

He never gets liberated.


38/44

This is mine I am of such characters only

When these ideas get destroyed,there remains then,

only the auspicious state which is completely quiet and is of the nature of knowledge

and nothing else other than that.

When the I taint gets destroyed through knowledge,

everything gets destroyed.

Actually nothing ever gets destroyed and only the Supreme without any taint remains.

_

(How does one get rid of this ego or perceiving consciousness?

For every I thought, counter it with a Not-I thought.

It is the easiest way to get rid of it.)

The idea of I gets subdued by the idea of Non-I, without any problem.

That much alone has to be practiced.

Why suffer unnecessarily all other hard practices?

_

(I and Not-I individual ego and the Supreme Self - both are Chit in essence.)

The delusion of I and Not-I is not there without the Chit state.

Chit-state extends like the sky.

Then, why this delusion?


39/44

(NO MORE DELUSION)

There is no delusion; no rotation; no illusion; no rotator.

This is there because of ignorance.

Through knowledge it never is there for you.

Know this perceived phenomenon itself as the nature of Chit,

which spreads out as false phenomenon.Therefore remain completely silent as everything is only the

Chit-state without any taint.

Through that which knows the I in a second,

by that alone understand Not-I and do not grieve ever.

If one does not express his valor by conquering his own mind,

what chances are there for him or the dumb animal

in attaining the excellent state of the Self?

That excellent man of knowledge who has conquered his mind and senses alone

becomes the receptacle of great states;

not the other human shaped donkey.


40/44

He alone is truly known as a perfect man,

who tries to subdue or already has subdued the agitations of the mind.He will indeed attain the true knowledge.

_

(Every thought that rises in your mind when perceiving the world, is like a stone thrown into the huge

ocean. It immediately vanishes to be seen never again. Do not hug the stone and drown along with it.

Keep yourself detached from the mind and its thoughts. Remain as a witness for all the functions of the

body and the mind.)

Whenever a thought arises, run away from it,

looking at it like a stone thrown into the ocean,

not-identifying with it instantly.

Whenever a thought rises in you like the movement in the wind,

immediately counter that thought with the thought Not-I

and make it support-less.

_

(Do not make statements like I want to realize the Self. It is my only goal in life, if you have not

conquered the vices residing in your mind.)

If one has not conquered greed, uncouth behavior, arrogance, ignorance,

in the beginning itself,

then why does he pretend to be after liberation

which will not lead him anywhere but towards more harm?


41/44

(The I I in every embodied person is actually the I, the Self

Wind is the movement. This I is that I. This I is the very nature of that I.)

That idea of I which is there in you like the movement in the wind,

is not different from the Supreme Self,

like the movement does not differ from the wind.

_

The Supreme Self never rises or sets and there is nothing other than that.

What is there or not there?

The Supreme in the Supreme; the whole in the whole;

the quiescence in quiescence; the auspiciousness in the auspiciousness;

this is how everything has spread out.There is no I. There is no world.

There is no cognizing agent.

_

(For worldly achievements people bear the pain of wounds in the battle-fields.

Even sheltering many illnesses, they keep on living with their bodies.

Then why cant one remain without the ego? Is it so difficult?)

Attacks by weapons are borne with.

The pains of illnesses are borne with.

What is the difficulty in bearing the absence of I?


42/44

The idea of I is the seed of the world.

If it is burnt away through non-identification,then where is the delusion of the I or the binding world?

_

(Brahman has no names. Even sounds describing that indescribable state are just imaginations of the mind.

Clay can be a pot or a cup or anything. But it is clay in essence. The very difference between clay and the

pot is mind-made. When you see the pot, you forget that it is clay in essence. You call it a pot or a cup and

recognize only its shape.

So many names and so many forms!

And a nameless Brahman named as Brahman!

Only That is!)

Sat, Brahma, Shiva, Aatman, such name-taints

are superimposed on the Supreme

and rise as the idea of I,

like the clay is forgotten in the level of the pot.

_

(The instant the ego rises, the whole world of perceptions looms above you threatening to swallow you up.

Kill that ego. Close the eye of the ego. You see nothing of the world.

There is no use closing the physical eye. The world will not vanish by that. It will still reside securely

inside the Vaasanaa-filled mind.)

The ego opens up like the eye; and in a secondexperiences the world as real though it is not real (as if through the infected eye);

and if closed like the eye, does not.

_


43/44

(How does one attain the state of the Self?

What is there to attain as different from the Self?

Where to search for it?

It is already attained. You are yourself.

How will the reflection search for the mirror outside itself?)

The excellent state gets attained only through the contemplation of the Self;

and the Self remains always attained.

Do not feel distressed and do not get deluded by the (limited) I._

I see that there is nothing better than

the practice of Not-I for you

Hey Anagha;

as it is possible through ones own effort

and is independent of any other means.

Forget the I and you remain

with your grandness spreading out everywhere,

filling the perceived world fully as the taintless Self projecting as

the world, mountains, sky, earth, ocean, wind and its path,

in your own nature,

quiet; without any sorrow,

without any trace of the taint of action,

without the world of elements,

without moving or non-moving,

as everything, yet not everything.

This is the essence of the conclusion arrived at.


44/44

PART SEVENTEEN OFSECTION SIX - NIRVAANA PRAKARANAM

COMPLETE

About the Author:

Maa Tejasvini

The author spent many years doing research on ancient Sanskrit texts in the Himalayan

region. She was exposed to many unique spiritual experiences which are beyond human

comprehension.

Her mission in life was to translate all renowned spiritual texts and literature of Sanskrit

and bring them to the light of the public.

yogavasishta nirvaana prakaranam part 17

Documents